Imagine a beautiful Saturday summer evening with a light breeze off Lake Monona, a view of downtown, a cold beer in your hand, and gemütlichkeit all around. That vision for a German-style biergarten is what I presented along with two business partners to the City of Madison’s request for proposals for “park place-making concepts” at Olbrich Park’s underutilized Beach House.

We are excited that the City chose our biergarten idea alongside Rutabaga Paddlesports to provide water sport and other recreational rental opportunities.

Biergartens in public places were ubiquitous in America before prohibition, and are now making a return. In 2012, Milwaukee County contracted with a vendor to operate a biergarten at Estabrook Park. After its initial success, the operation expanded, and Milwaukee County now has five fixed biergartens in its parks. The significant revenue has been a boon for taxpayers and the biergartens are places for the public to enjoy their parks. The parks surrounding the biergartens have also seen significant investment and growth, including new playground sets, and sports and recreation facilities.

For more than eight decades (since 1933), beer has been served at the University of Wisconsin’s Memorial Union Terrace. Memories made at the Terrace are shared by generations of Madisonians. The Olbrich Biergarten will shape similar memories and provide a public place for responsible enjoyment of a beer or glass of wine in a setting that is a rarely used treasure.

During your visit to the Olbrich Biergarten, you could buy beer, wine, cider, sports drinks, root beer, water, soft pretzels, bratwurst, kid-friendly and healthy treats, water, sports drinks and root beer. You could also bring your own food and drink (though local ordinance prohibits outside alcohol), along with flowers for the centerpiece. The biergarten would be open seasonally from May to October depending on weather, seven days a week, 4pm to 10pm on weekdays and noon to 10pm on weekends. Last cal would be at 9:30pm. Closing at 10pm is consistent with current park hours.

Today, Olbrich Park receives a lot of use, but the Beach House has fallen into some disrepair. On a visit in early June, the building had been tagged in at least three places with graffiti. The safety and cleanliness of the bathrooms is also suspect. Additionally, Olbrich Park has had its fair share of problems with alcohol consumption. Our proposal is for an atmosphere in which responsible consumption occurs, monitored by staff, which would be safe and open to families. Capital investments to the building, on-site staff, a security system, and a bustling biergarten will certainly help create a place that is safe for enjoyment by all park users.

We would want the space to feel like a slice of Germany. We would beautify and upgrade the building, grounds and restrooms. Strings of small globe lights would illuminate the beer garden’s picnic tables along the shore. We would not disturb the shoreline, but would ask the City’s help in cleaning up invasive overgrowth in compliance with local, state or federal shore land protections. We would also install new bike racks.

We hope you will support our vision as we begin the process of obtaining the necessary permits and licenses to make the Olbrich Biergarten a reality. We will be holding a formal informational session from 6pm to 7pm on October 27th at the Olbrich Park Beach House. In the meantime, please contact me with any suggestions or concerns at mike.bare83@gmail.com or by phone at (608) 620-3001.

Mike Bare is a co-owner of BKM Group, LLC, which has begun contract negotiations with the City of Madison to open a biergarten at Olbrich Park in Madison, WI.

Sounds like some serious placemaking help for Olbrich! So many people use that park in addition the beach users. I think it would probably be a welcome addition for most. Might you talk with The East Side Club regarding the tiki bar that is located right next door?

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Mike Bare

11/5/2016 10:12:12 pm

Hi Kristie, thanks for the kind words. Yes, we plan to discuss with the East Side Club.

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Lance Green

10/27/2016 11:03:05 am

Where will all these new park patrons park??? Are you proposing to expand the parking lot? If not, folks will have to park some distance away, as there is no parking along the street nearby.

As a long-time resident in the area, I will miss the quiet, peaceful experience of walking and sitting along the shore, watching sunsets and being grateful that our city provides a natural experience in my neighborhood. A sad loss...

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Mike Bare

11/5/2016 10:15:43 pm

Sharing my response directly to Lance with all:

We certainly plan to respect the neighbors and the space as a park that is open to all and all legal uses.

The Beach House has a 125-space parking lot. There are also other parking lots in the park (160 spots on the north side, 75 on the east side, and street parking along Lakeland within the park — these tallies do not include the boat launch lot or trailer parking spots). We also propose to work with the City to install more bike racks and we would like to encourage our patrons to bike (for concerns related to both parking and driving under the influence) with a discount program (details will need to be worked out but lots of businesses do this).

We will have a setback zone between the shore and our seating area so walks along the lakeshore will still be possible. Our hours are proposed to be 4pm to 10pm with a 9:30pm last call on weekdays and noon to 10pm with a 9:30pm last call on weekends. And our operation is proposed to use roughly 200 feet of the roughly 4,988 combined feet of shoreline at Olbrich and Hudson Parks. Rutabaga Paddlesports’ operation will enhance use of the beach and the Lake.

Thanks!

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Steve McCarthy

11/6/2016 01:46:22 am

I too am concerned about the amount of available parking. I believe your proposal was for seating for about 200 people. Quite often the current parking is consumed for the soccer, ultimate Frisbee, basketball and volleyball activities. You can "recommend" bicycle parking all you want, but that will not be enough to accommodate these other activities and additional bier garden patrons. I do believe the current parking arrangement is the maximum density possible without someone expanding the available parking area. Who would pay for the expansion - your group or the city?

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Mike Bare

11/28/2016 10:01:42 am

Hi Steve, The proposal does not include a plan to expand the parking lots. We will not request turning parkland into parking lot. There are 120 spots at the Beach House, 71 across the street at the ball diamonds, and 178 at the other ball diamond parking lot. There are three-hour time limits on parking in the park, so people will keep moving. Many of our patrons will be people who are already visiting the park. We do plan to work with the City to expand the bike racks at the Beach House.

Diane

11/4/2016 05:56:25 pm

Sounds. Like a great idea!

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Robert Fontella

11/5/2016 05:07:46 pm

In love with the idea! So excited for a family friendly place like this! We live a block away and welcome this addition. Thank you!

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Steve McCarthy

11/6/2016 01:53:47 am

I'm interested in how you plan to address the bathroom/change room facilities. You state that the building has fallen into some disrepair and that there would be some capital investments to improve them. Who would be making making how much investment into to changing what? How much by your group, or how much by the city? Once again, are you proposing a physical change to the building, something that would separate the bathing facilities from the bathroom facilities, something that would separate the drinkers from the bathers?

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Mike Bare

11/27/2016 09:17:56 pm

Hi Steve, The bathrooms will be painted, and new partitions will be installed. There is one spot in the women's bathroom where one can see through the wall to the outside. That will be patched. The current stall partitions in both bathrooms are not safe for kids due to rusty sharp edges - those will be replaced. The fixtures will be tested and upgraded if necessary. The details of investment is being negotiated between us and the City. We do not plan to separate the shower and changing areas from the bathrooms. The bathrooms will be cleaned and stocked daily.

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Steve McCarthy

11/6/2016 02:38:13 am

Could you provide more information about your statement "Olbrich Park has had its fair share of problems with alcohol consumption." What do you consider "fair share". According to the CrimeReport web site, there have been only two liquor related incidents in the Olbrich area, versus for 172 for the city, since May.

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Mike Bare

11/27/2016 09:20:41 pm

Our understanding from discussions with local leaders, the police, and the City is that here have been ongoing issues with individuals consuming alcohol without the required permit, harassing other park visitors, and leaving trash behind. Not every instance would rise to the level of an official "incident." We do also understand that this problem has gotten better since the City banned non-permitted alcohol consumption in the Park.

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﻿Lake Edge neighborhood is a vibrant, friendly neighborhood situated among similar communities on Madison’s east side. Our boundaries are from Cottage Grove Road to the north, Monona Drive to the west, East Dean/Monona Golf Course to the south, and Stoughton Road to the east. In the heart of our community is Lake Edge Park﻿.